There is an old saying we’re all going to hell in a hand basket.
The problem is the hand basket is not full but it is to heavy to carry. One of the positive aspects of it all is the Devil himself is starting to be overwhelmed. The story of our lives looks quite bleak but really there is a positive outcome to be had today
We have COVID making the rounds like a bad dream. Some do their part while others deny there is a problem until the virus knocks on their door or the door next door. When that happens they want the vaccine…too late. Their fall back is they should move to the head of the line for care which raises ethical and moral questions. That is when cancer patients and other surgeries of importance are canceled to accommodate those in need for something that was likely preventable.
There is racial issues and dismissive attitudes when it comes to the suffering of those in residential schools and a history of some very unsavory characters we once praised in history books. Some still can’t come to grips with the truth and say different times..a very convenient excuse to tiptoe past the fact we know what is wrong now was wrong then and those in charge knew it.. We dance around political and corporate corruption with a boys will be boys attitude. For decades we have avoided seeing the problem without even wearing our rose colored glasses.
The steady issue that seems to disgust us of late has had a very long runway before becoming the issue that has begun to awaken our senses that all is not well in the land of Nod.
For decades sexual abuse of women saw lip service about tackling the problem. Society saw it as a problem in the whole of the entertainment industry and adopted the attitude of the casting couch mentality.
Things are changing. People are paying attention to sexual abuse among the clergy, in the world of sport, in the political community, in our policing system and even the military. I cite the military especially. It seems every time we appoint a senior officer to a special post we have a sexual grievance before the end of the day.
You ask what are the positives? We are starting to realize these problems for what they are. They are no longer the elephants in the room . Some people ask how did these problems get overlooked and be made part of the blurry background? The word complacency comes to mind. We overlooked the suffering of others and we used the casting couch mentality instead of understanding the concept that children and young people being sexually abused ,,,,are our daughters and our sons.
The positive is we are no longer dismissive and even the counter culture mantra is wearing thin. History is not being re-written instead we are acknowledging the truth and the truth is starting to see the light of day. When that happens there is a backlash and that perpetuates the discussion. Resetting the truth meter is good for society in the long run for it makes us aware of our frailties and results in positive change.
Can you imagine the controversy ending slavery caused or the idea of having kids as young as eight and nine working in mines and factories in the nineteenth century. Saving the best to last. Can you imagine the debate for women s suffrage? It started on the Prairie and in 1916 women were recognized as persons. The debate raged until 1922 when full suffrage was granted to women. The beginning of that struggle wasn’t positive but the outcome is a monument to changing attitudes.
The point is we are not going to hell in a hand basket.
We are addressing the issues of our time and one at a time we will find the right solutions just in time to confront new problems as society evolves in positive change.
Fred Steele